Excellent and thanks to all who have answered so far, those who have other information on this front please post as well. I had hoped for this type of response. If no one but Tohei had publically done this I would have found it somewhat disturbing that only one branch of the art admitted to having to gin up the mechanics.
As it is, that is why I want more information from as many branches as possible. I suspect we all could gleen something from a comparison of what the early shihans have to say on this subject. Thanks again.

I believe Tohei was a yondan in judo before encountering aikido, I could be wrong. I do know that it was his time spent with Nakamura Tempu sensei that helped him tie everything together and make aikido "work" for him outside of Japan. Seriously, it was the ki work, not relying on another martial art but searching for the true essence of what O sensei was actually doing, that made him such an enigmatic and effective leader in the expansion of the art. I do believe that (hopefully) there are less fallacies regarded as truth in MA's these days, but I often encounter videos on the interwebs that suggest otherwise. However Tohei was not bullshit in a field full of it, and I think it behooves any aikidoka to look into his teachings, he was not the first 10th dan in aikido by accident.